The invention relates to a motor vehicle seat.
A motor vehicle seat of this kind comprises a backrest which can be folded forwards from at least one useful position in which it serves to support the back of a vehicle occupant by swivelling onto a seat surface of the seat underframe of the vehicle seat; an upholstery carrier which serves to receive a seat cushion which defines the aforementioned seat surface and on which a passenger can sit; as well as a coupling member through which the backrest is coupled to the upholstery carrier so that as the backrest folds forwards the upholstery carrier is for example lowered and/or moved in the seat longitudinal direction. By seat longitudinal direction is thereby meant that direction along which the thighs of an occupant extend when the latter is seated in a normal sitting position on the vehicle seat.
By useful position of the backrest are currently meant all those positions of the backrest in which the backrest can be locked and serves to support the back of the seat occupant. This can be a single useful position where the backrest is substantially upright (in the case of a motor vehicle seat with a non-adjustable backrest incline) or a number of different useful positions (in the case of a motor vehicle seat which has an incline-adjustable backrest). In the last mentioned case apart from locking the backrest in a substantially upright useful position there is as a rule the possibility of being able to lock the backrest in different reclining positions so that the seat can also serve as a reclining seat.
If the backrest is folded forwards from these useful positions towards the seat surface then it no longer serves to support the back of a vehicle occupant; rather the use of the corresponding seat by a vehicle occupant in this position of the backrest is not even possible since the backrest covers the seat surface. When the backrest is folded forwards additional space becomes available for transporting objects in the vehicle.
Swivelling or folding the backrest from this useful position forwards onto the seat surface of the vehicle thereby does not necessarily mean that the backrest (with its backrest cushion) has to rest on the seat surface (formed by a seat cushion) of the motor vehicle seat. It is only of importance that the backrest when folded forwards extends above the upholstery carrier (and thereby covers same) so that the desired additional cargo space is provided above the forward-folded backrest. This cargo space is maximised if the backrest in the forward-folded state rests on the seat surface (at least in part); however a considerable additional cargo space can already be provided above the backrest if the backrest when folded forwards is at a distance from the seat surface (formed by the seat cushion) and thus extends at a certain distance above same. The backrest is thereby preferably aligned substantially horizontal and extends substantially parallel or in any case slightly inclined relative to the seat surface.
By coupling the backrest to the upholstery carrier of the vehicle seat through a coupling member when the backrest is folded forwards onto the seat surface the upholstery carrier is shifted vertically down and/or forwards or backwards in the seat longitudinal direction. The additional cargo space which becomes available on folding the backrest forwards can hereby be optimised.
With motor vehicle seats of this kind there is the difficulty that by coupling the backrest to the upholstery carrier a restricted movement of the backrest from a useful position can already lead to a displacement of the upholstery carrier. This is then a drawback by way of example if the backrest is to be adjustable within a useful area by swivelling into different useful positions.
The object of the invention is therefore to provide a motor vehicle seat of the type already mentioned which enables a restricted swivel movement of the backrest without leading to a displacement of the upholstery carrier of the vehicle seat.